So my losses have been stalling out. I understand that this is normal (it's only been about 3 months), but I'm thinking two things could be the culprit:
1) Sleep - a couple weeks ago I started 2nd semester/2nd year of law school. That's does serious damage to my sleep. Until May, I will be averaging 4-5 hours a night, which HURTS.
2) Water Intake - I think it's been dwindling. I don't drink stuff with sugar, BUT I can go *nuts* with diet coke, black coffee, & sugar free red bull, given the opportunity. And I've been giving myself the opportunity.
I can't do very much about the sleeping thing, but I'm going to make this an all-water week to see if this makes a difference.
Does anyone remember when either of these things seemed to really affect weight loss? I'd love to hear some stories!
Not drinking enough water can definitely be the culprit. I can gain up to 3 lbs of water weight if I forget to drink enough water and drink too much coffee. Water is essential to health and muscle repair so even if that isn't the culprit in your case (which it probably is) I would make it a point to drink more water anyways.
As for the sleep I hear it can have a major affect on weightloss but I usually sleep 6-8 hours every night so I haven't personally had any experience with weight gain because of it.
Stress can also play a part in it, at least for me. There's not much you can do about it, but try to plan some de-stressing activities into your schedule.
Oh, and try dropping the artificial sweeteners. An all water week should tell you something!
Sleep (and in turn stress) was massive for me. I stalled badly due to a lack of sleep (which was then stress), averaging 1-3 hours total sleep in a 24 hour period for 3.5 months (yes, 1!!! 5:30-6:30am for 2 months straight) and then another 3 months @ 4 hours a night (broken). I'm now at 7-8 hours straight for the past 2 weeks (an occasional 20 minute wakeup) and already I'm noticing a major difference.
Law school is ouch for stress and sleep. I also could not do anything about my broken sleep so it's just best to work your way through it and minimize your other stressors. If you can, lol
People generally recommend 64oz...but I've always figured drink as much as you can without feeling sick. I've never had a problem getting in as much as 100 oz if I'm not drinking anything else.
8 glasses a day or so they say (64 oz or half your body weight in oz).
When I was drinking diet cokes and the like, I wasn't losing any weight. I don't know why. There's lots of research out there on aspartame and what could have been happening to my body, but I didn't investigate it deeply. When I stopped drinking it, I started to lose weight steadily... however, I made other changes in my diet too, so I can't say if it is.
Stress is a big one for me and when I'm under a lot of stress, I don't lose. I just chalk it up to that week "lost" because I wasn't able to balance it. Exercise is my lifesaver, though, it keeps me relatively relaxed. I would try to incorporate it into your law school studies, even if you feel there's not enough time in the day.
Thanks for your replies! So as I embark on my all-water-week, how much water is somebody supposed to drink?
I'm sure everyone's different - but is there a general # of ounces?
The Institute of Medicine advises that women consume 2.2 liters (about 9 cups) of water a day. Most people go by the eight 8 ounces glasses of water rule though. I just drink a 12 oz glass every couple hours which usually keeps me from being thirsty. Just remind yourself through out the day and you should be fine.
I think drink enough so that you feel comfortable and hydrated.
Recently, the guidelines about drinking 64 oz of pure water have been somewhat debunked. It turns out those guidelines were based on ... well, no evidence at all. The recent research seems to indicate that your hydration comes from many sources, so you can count all the beverages you drink... and even consider that a lot of the food we eat is high in water content.
It seems a number of people find drinking beverages makes them less hungry, and that might be another good reason to drink more water, tea and even coffee...
I can't chug a lot of water I get kidney pains if I do so I don't force myself to drink it. I tend to have one cup every couple of hours. I'm an insomniac so can't help with the sleep thing but I would cut out those Red Bulls. I read that Richard Simmons cut out drinking diet soda's and lost 14lbs by doing that alone. Fizzy drinks whether 0 cal or not are not good for dieters
Water is a biggie for me. I started drinking more coke zero instead of water, and the scales are up up up. I can tell I'm retaining water because my rings don't fit.
I might try this "water week" and see if that kick-starts anything.
Also, I find that I simply cannot drink the 8-10 glasses of water a day. I end up in the bathroom every hour or so, LOL. I drink enough so I'm not thirsty. It was hard at first, because for years I was in a near-constant state of mild dehydration and I couldn't recognize when I was thirsty until my mouth was dry and uncomfortable. It's much easier now, and I drink probably 4-6 glasses of actual water a day.
Sleep has been THE difference for me. I found out last spring that I have severe sleep apnea and started using a CPAP machine. Since I have been sleeping an almost perfect 7 or so hours of sleep per night, I have made HUGE, MAJOR accomplishments in my lifestyle -- eating habits, exercise, even able recently to tackle my sodium intake and bring my BP down from medium-high to normal with no meds. I don't know if sleep itself does the trick, but for me, it makes the changes POSSIBLE, where before I was sleeping properly, they simply were not. You can only do what you can do, but my sleep has become priority 1 for me now that I know first hand how much of a difference it has made in every single aspect of my life!
I still drink some diet soda, but do drink water throughout the day. Don't really track it, but don't let myself get thirsty.
Well, I'm hanging in there...day one of all water/no caffiene week. I'm pretty sure I'm going through some withdrawal already. I should be charming in the morning.
It's hard to believe all this water is going to help me....I feel like I must have 9lbs of liquid in me!
I'll come back and update mid week! **swims away**
Your experiences with water intake and sleep
so I don't force myself to drink it. I tend to have one cup every couple of hours. I'm an insomniac so can't help with the sleep thing but I would cut out those Red Bulls. I read that Richard Simmons cut out drinking diet soda's and lost 14lbs by doing that alone. Fizzy drinks whether 0 cal or not are not good for dieters 
It's much easier now, and I drink probably 4-6 glasses of actual water a day.
